The coronavirus pandemic has turned the business world upside down. Many companies were forced to redesign their business models and processes and use digital channels. Insurance sales, which traditionally relied on physical consultations, were particularly affected. Suddenly, however, it was no longer possible to visit customers at home or in the office. This required innovative solutions: One of these was video consulting, which quickly proved successful. In fact, even after the pandemic, many companies are relying on this medium to offer the convenience of digital advice that customers have already come to appreciate. But how can companies ensure that their video consultations are professional and trustworthy and ultimately lead to a successful contract?

Find out in this article how a professional video consultation can help insurance companies to increase the trust of their customers and improve their closing rates. We will also show you how you can reach new target groups and increase your digital footprint by improving your video consulting skills.

Before we look at how to improve video consultations, it is important to understand the benefits of this medium. By using video consultations, companies can reach their customers efficiently and cost-effectively without them having to be physically present, even in remote regions or other countries – without high travel costs. Consultants also have the flexibility to schedule appointments outside of normal business hours to meet the needs of their clients. However, it is important that companies ensure that the professionalism of advice is also guaranteed from the home office.

Another advantage of video consulting is the ability to present products and services in real time. By using visual elements such as images, diagrams and videos, companies can present their offers in an appealing and understandable way and integrate any customer input into a dynamic presentation in real time. Customers have the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback, which helps companies to tailor their offers to the needs of their customers.

The integration and optimization of video consulting tools and skills can give companies, and insurance companies in particular, a significant competitive advantage in sales. Video consultations enable insurance companies to expand their reach, work more efficiently and build better customer relationships. They can also respond more effectively to customer needs and use the latest technologies. If you’re an insurance company using video advice, make sure you have the technology and processes in place to provide an excellent customer experience and professional advice.

Companies are increasingly processing data about customers, suppliers and employees. The aim of the revision is to oblige companies to take the necessary organizational and technical measures to ensure data security and prevent data misuse as far as possible.

Principle 1 – General requirements for the management of operational risks

The revision contains a significantly expanded specification of the roles for assessing the effectiveness of measures and the minimum scope of reporting in connection with operational risks. This is primarily intended to counter the misinterpretations frequently identified in practice in the previous FINMA RS 08/21. Institutions that already consider ICT and cyber risks as well as risks relating to critical data in their operational risk management should have little need to adapt.

Principle 2 – Management of ICT risks

The revision replaces the previous Principle 4 “Technology infrastructure”. This will largely be replaced by the requirements of the BCBS, which already reflects FINMA’s supervisory practice. This relates in particular to the formulation of incident management in coordination with the areas of disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity management (BCM), as well as regular reporting. Another new feature is the anchoring of the duty to report significant disruptions in accordance with FINMASA Art. 29.

Principle 3 – Management of cyber risks

This principle primarily contains clarifications of existing supervisory practice and defines the roles, responsibilities and processes for the collection, assessment and documentation of cyber risks, as well as regular reporting. These significant changes relate to the anchoring of the reporting obligation in accordance with FINMASA Art. 29 and the requirement to conduct scenario-based cyber exercises.

Principle 4 – Managing the risks of critical data

The current FINMA RS 08/21 primarily defines the requirements for the protection of electronic client data. This definition is extended in the revision and is intended to apply to all data classified as critical in terms of confidentiality, integrity or availability. The provisions also include the selection, training, monitoring and regular review of privileged access, as well as the implementation of a role and function-specific authorization system.

These requirements largely correspond to security practice today and many institutions have probably already implemented corresponding measures. Depending on the organizational structure and/or the degree of maturity of the implementation, however, there may still be a need for action in this area, which should be planned for at an early stage.

Principle 5 – Management of risks from the cross-border services business

These requirements correspond to the previous Principle 7 and do not contain any significant changes.

Principle 6 – Business Continuity Management (BCM)

This principle formulates the requirements for the Business Impact Analysis (BIA) and the Business Continuity Plans (BCP). It also contains the requirements for the crisis team, periodic tests and regular reporting to the management. This largely implements the SBA’s previous recommendations in coordination with the BCBS and therefore does not contain any significant changes for institutions that already follow these standards.

Principle 7 – Operational resilience

This principle is new and essentially defines the coordination between the relevant components of risk management such as the management of operational risks, ICT/cyber risks, business continuity management, the management of outsourcing (see FINMA RS 2018/3 “Outsourcing”) and emergency planning. The principle formulates the specific requirements for the identification of critical, system-relevant processes, notification and adjustment in the event of significant changes, as well as regular testing and reporting. In the revised circular, FINMA addresses both business continuity management and operational resilience requirements. At first glance, these seem to overlap, but they differ in their objectives.

The proposed Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is part of the package of measures for the digitalization of the financial sector (Digital Finance Package), which the European Commission presented in September 2020. With this package, the Commission wants to promote the competitiveness and innovation of the EU financial sector. The DORA draft was provisionally approved by the Commission in July 2022 and is due to be adopted by the European Parliament this November.

The aim of the legislation is to harmonize existing EU and member state requirements as well as European Central Bank (ECB) guidelines.